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Wikiality:Sound Advice/Common
These are the most common issues pages have. They will be split into sections for ease of reading. For help with editing, go to: or Beginners' Guide. For questions, post them here: FAQ. To post your page for Review, click here. =What Does A Good Page Need?= * Truthiness - does the page have balls? Emotion? Passionate, sweaty, throbbing emotion? * Beauty - how pretty is the page? * It-Getting - is the page satirical enough? Too much? Does your page have a hard, firm, throbbing basis in The Stephen Colbert Experience or CPOV? * SPG - can anyone read it? Does it follow the basic rules of American? =What Problems Might Your Page Have?= Beauty Issues * too many tags * not enough tags * images too dark * images not dark enough * excessive font games * not enough font games * contains one giant, solid block of words (see also formatting, below) * too many mis-spellings (example misspelling of the word mis-spelled) Formatting * images "look" off page * images too big/too small * stacked images * no captions * text, images covered by something else * needs a table or list or sections or SPG Common writing mistakes Page is too reality-based It's always a good idea to stay one step ahead of the quirkiness of real life. On the other hand, if satire goes overboard, it stops being funny. A satire could go overboard in one of two ways, either by repeating itself excessively without adding anything new and interesting. OR, through sheer exaggeration. Suggestions: * Whenever you write an article, don't assume your readers know anything about the subject. Page content was copied from other Internets source i.e. Wikip*dia, Uncyclopedia, etc. (even Conservapedia) Suggestions: *Don't. Though notes from other news/internet sources can be posted on the talk tube or main page of the article along with the template and preferably followed by a signature or time stamp: Non Colbert-Centric content Attempt to find an authentic connection to Stephen Colbert or his commentary. (Without simply declaring it his mortal enemy/new best friend or other quick forms of name dropping.) Suggestions: *(See: The Stephen Colbert Experience) Too bland: no personality, discernible attitude, or point of view You need to determine how the writer should view the subject matter. The narrator should be almost directly involved with the topic passionately. Though its also important to practice this in certain moderation at times. Suggestions: *(See: Wikiality: CPOV) No focus / doesn't go anywhere Hit 'em fast. Is there humor in the first (and every) paragraph? It may seem cute when you write it, but if theres five paragraphs before the punchline... you've probably insured no one will ever get that far. Suggestions: * Focus. The best articles are the ones that follow a narrow subject line. What is the point of your article? Its point is its theme. It's tempting to sidetrack, but you have to follow the straight and narrow otherwise you end up with a hodgepodge of ideas that add up to nothing. * Trim, trim, trim. The shorter, (typically,) the better. If it isn't setting up or delivering the joke, it's gotta go. Sadly, readers give priority to shorter pieces. (Think of all those bad SNL skits and what made them bad--they were too long, took too long to get started and once they did, didn't go anywhere) Page is too random Have a clear theme. What is the article about? That doesn't mean what is the plot line, the sequence of events or the character/subject's background, it means what is the underlying message or statement behind the words. Suggestions: Page tries to cover too many ideas Suggestions: *Consider editing out ideas which seem too random or weak for the overall article *Make large sections/topics into subdirectories of the article *If enough relevant material is available, consider making entirely new article for the subject. Introduced idea, dropped/forgot about it Suggestions: * I was going to provide a suggestion for this, but I assume that the mere mention of it is sufficient enough for it to be included on this page, even though I won't say anything else about it, or offer any explanation for its being here... * Or, too many subjects introduced on a page can scatter the attention of your reader. Try to only mention stuff that is directly associated or connected to the subject of the article. Otherwise the article becomes too random. Introduced character, dropped/forgot about character Suggestions: *Each new character will bring a new dimension to the article and too many will screw it up. Have only enough characters to effectively illustrate the theme. =What Else Do You Need To Know?= What is Satire? Wikiality.com is satire. :From Malaspina College: "...satire is "A composition in verse or prose holding up vice or folly to ridicule or lampooning individuals. . . . The use of ridicule, irony, sarcasm, etc., in speech or writing for the ostensible purpose of exposing and discourage vice or folly."(...) If we see someone or some group acting in a way we think is morally unacceptable and we wish to correct such behaviour, we have a number of options. We can try to force them to change their ways (through threats of punishment); we can deliver stern moral lectures, seeking to persuade them to change their ways; we can try the Socratic approach of engaging them in a conversation which probes the roots of their beliefs; or, alternatively, we can encourage everyone to see them as ridiculous, to laugh at them, to render them objects of scorn for the group. In doing so we will probably have at least two purposes in mind: first, to effect some changes in the behaviour of the target (so that he or she reforms) and, second, to encourage others not to behave in such a manner.(Emphasis added) Specific It-Getting (Satirical) Techniques Caricature: A representation of a subject's distinctive features/characteristics. Example: Dennis Kucinich is an elf who lives in a tree. Lampoon: A crude, coarse, often bitter satire ridiculing the personal appearance or character of a person. Example: Dennis Kucinich is a hippie elf who lives in a tree. Parody: A humorous imitation of another, usually serious, work. Example: The Bill of Rights is a parody of The 10 Commandments Burlesque: A work that ridicules a topic by treating something exalted as if it were trivial or vice-versa. This does not necessary involve tassels. Example: Magical Mormon underwear does include tassles Mock Heroic: To mock stereotypes of heroes. Example: John McCain wishes he is as big a hero as Rudy Giuliani Reductio ad absurdum: Oversimplifying an argument to the most absurd, yet seemingly "logical" position Example: Intelligent Design is the acceptable secular version of Creationism because God made it so Invective: Abusive or venomous language used to express blame, censure or hate. Example: The very language liberals hate because they are so stupid. Irony: A meaning (often contradictory) concealed behind the apparent meaning of a word, phrase or statement. Example: the opposite of anything Alannis Morrissett says (seriously) If These Things Are On Your Page, Shame On You! * Stephen is spelled wrong * Colbert is spelled wrong * John Stewart is spelled without the "H" * nucular is spelled wrong (Wikiality.com's spelling is the Official Spelling: "nuculer"; try spelling it the other way, smarty pants!)